Altamonte Springs police have arrested the father of the 2-year-old toddler who shot his 21-year-old mother as she participated in a Zoom call for work.
On Tuesday, Veondre Avery, 22, was charged with negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm after being taken into custody, per the Orlando Sentinel.
In August, Shamaya Lynn was working from home and in a Zoom meeting when her toddler son found Avery’s loaded weapon inside his “Paw Patrol” backpack on the floor of his parent’s bedroom.
The Seminole-Brevard State Attorney’s Office told the Sentinel that forensic evidence determined that the baby fired one fatal shot that struck his mother in the head. After Lynn fell to the floor, a shaken coworker called 911 even though she didn’t know where Lynn lived.
Upon arriving at their apartment, Avery found his partner unresponsive on the floor. The Sentinel reported that he sounded distressed on his call to 911 and begged emergency services to “please hurry.”
“I literally just got home, and I come in the room… [and] my girlfriend who was working on the computer, she’s just laid back, and there’s blood everywhere,” Avery said.
Even though the distraught father performed CPR on Lynn, he couldn’t feel her heartbeat. She died at the scene.
A source told NewsOnyx that Avery and Lynn were high school sweethearts. The loss has been challenging for the father and his sweetheart’s family.
Lynn was described as “thoughtful, kind, loving and considerate” by family. She also loved her job because she could work from home and be with her and Avery’s children. Although she was born in Miami, she moved to Orlando in 2008.
Avery is being held at Seminole County Jail without bond.
